Detection and Distribution of Apple scar skin viroid-Korean Strain (ASSVd-K) from Apples Cultivated in Korea

Abstract

Apple scar skin viroid (ASSVd) has been one of the most destructive diseases in Korean apple orchards. Symptoms of the scar skin viroid disease were detected in various apple cultivars, namely, Sansa, Fuji, Chukwang, Miki-Life, Hongro, and Songbongeum cultivated in the southern part of Korea. The RNA molecules were extracted from the apples bearing dapple apple symptoms with the application of CF-11 RNA extraction method. The purified RNAs were used for the synthesis of cDNA with RT-PCR. The PCR products were cloned and sequenced. The viroid RNA molecules from the six different cultivars bearing the dapple symptos showed the same nucleotide sequences as that of the Korean strain of ASSVd（ASSVd-K). ASSVd-K was detected from apple orchards in Kunwi, Sangju, Uiseong, Yeong-yang, Andong, and Youngduk in Gyeongbuk Province in 2001, and in Muju in Jeonbuk Province in 2002. As the viroid disease could be propagated vegetatively, it can be widely transmitted gradually in Korea.